U.S. War Veterans Fight Deportation

Summermoondancer wrote:

..Jan spends way too much time on topix to be in the military.

People in the military often have families living with them in foreign countries.

Summermoondancer wrote:

Um mind your own business.and I am the EDITOR of the MEXICO forum MORON..which is the ONE you are ON...so perhaps you need to go to another forum...one I am not an editor of. Jan in the military? give me a break..Jan spends way too much time on topix to be in the military.

my aren't you a prissy little queer

have you got a timer on me?

editor?? Blahahahahahahahahaha
U B DUM

http://theamericansquare.org/forum/topics/sho...

A little known law, The Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, is putting U.S. Military Veterans in peril of deportation. It seems, according to this law, that certain crimes, even as minute as several traffic tickets, can get you deported, EVEN if they were committed long BEFORE you served!

Quoting a Story from the Seattly Post Globe:
"American Military veterans who have served our nation in times of war and peace have quietly been deported since 1996 when the Immigration Reform Act (IRA) was passed by the Republican Controlled Congress and “broadly” redefined Aggravated Felony (AG) and took away certain applications for relief. This simple change in the definition of AG in the law has directly affected tens of thousands of veterans who served their nation. Quite simply, they are facing forced deportation or have in fact already been “quietly” and unceremoniously deported over the past 13 years.

“A trail of lies has been uncovered at point of recruitment and in boot camps. Statements concerning U. S. Citizenship being “automatic” were related by many veterans we interviewed. Other veterans, who were more educated, knew different and applied while in the military but then deployed to a combat zone and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) didn’t have their application follow them. Many, who knew they had to apply, simply found that (as is the case with many veterans upon discharge, especially those suffering from PTSD), navigating the “system” is not psychologically or emotionally possible, for them.

“At present, it is estimated that over 3,000 of our fellow veterans are incarcerated and face deportation in Department of Homeland Security/INS Prisons nation wide. They are being processed through court rooms in rented industrials parks that more closely resemble fast food franchises turning out lunch than justice. Many are being held under “mandatory detention” with no option to pay bail to be released while fighting their case."

Rudi Richardson a US Veteran who was deported in August of 2003 after living in the United States for 45 years. Please see article http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0... .

More from Truthdig:

“The War Comes Home” series tells the story of Philippe Louis Jean, an Iraq war veteran whom the U.S. government shamefully tried to deport—once he came home. Louis Jean had a green card, but a previous adultery charge was enough for the government to throw him in prison for 10 months."

From the Watertown Daily:

"If an immigrant dies while serving this country, he or she is made a citizen and receives a military funeral. But if the person lives and runs afoul of the law after leaving the military, the veteran can be deported."

Somehow this seems like a deceptive practice, kind of like a shell game. These people are LEGALLY here, join the service with the expectation that they will gain citizenship by risking their lives, only to find themselves locked in cells pending deportation afterwards. While I am not a proponent of housing major criminals, how can someone guilty of adultery, traffic violations or minor drug possession charges be a danger to the country they risked their lives to defend? I think ICE and the Federal Government need to revisit this issue and put some realistic and humane boundaries on the execution of this law. It was meant to remove dangerous people from out midst, not those who put their lives on the line in the defense of OUR freedom, only to find theirs taken away.